Backing Up Your Blog

I was standing at the airport baggage claim area for what seemed like hours, watching the silver conveyor belt slowly move people’s luggage around in a circle. Each time I saw a bag that looked like mine, I would breathe a sigh of relief. But to my misfortune, each time a bag moved closer, the luggage tag bore someone else’s name.

After I couldn’t wait any longer, I made my way to the baggage claim folks and told them I needed my bag right away. I needed to change clothes to meet some friends for dinner. After another eternal wait, the baggage folks told me that somehow my bag had ended up in Atlanta. I was in Miami.

As I was about to start screaming every curse word I know, I remembered something. I had a backup set of clothes in my carry-on bag. I’m not really sure how, but somehow it made me realize something very important about work. You should always have some sort of backup–not only when you’re checking luggage, but especially when dealing with computers/databases. READ MORE

Neglected: The Sad Truth About Doctors’ Sites & What They Should Do About It

As magazine audiences begin to dwindle, TV commercials are fast-forwarded, and direct mail fills trash cans, doctors who are set in their traditional outbound-marketing ways are getting left behind.

More and more people are turning to search engines—and then to practices’ sites—to find doctors. Many times, a potential patient’s first contact with a doctor is through a Web site (if one exists), but surprisingly, so many doctors neglect their online presences.

A lot of doctors realize they need a site, but they don’t really know why. As a result their sites either a) read like a business card or b) go untouched for years, leaving patients with outdated information.

If you’re a doctor, we encourage you to view your Web site as a powerful business aide that is not only a marketing vehicle, but also a tool that can cut down on your staff’s administrative duties. Combine that with social media, and you can really rise above your competition. READ MORE

When Apple and Adobe Fight, the Magazine Industry Loses

I’m sure you’ve heard about the strife between Apple and Adobe. It seems like Apple’s unwillingness to work with Adobe has finally brought this battle to the point of no return.

Apple recently announced the new iPhone operating system and an update to the software development kit (SDK) license. The update won’t allow iPhone or iPad developers to submit apps that use cross-platform compilers. Not to get too technical here, but a cross-platform compiler allows you to make a program in one programming language. Then it compiles it, so it runs on the iPhone and iPad operating systems.

Apple’s announcement came weeks after Adobe announced the features of its new creative suite. The creative suite was going to have a cross-platform compiler included. This would allow a designer who isn’t tech savvy to build a layout in InDesign (the desktop publishing program) and then export out a nice, interactive digital version. This digital version was the closest thing I have ever seen to recreating a print experience on a digital platform. But now after this latest attack by Apple, Adobe will no longer produce new versions of this compiler.

How This Affects Publishers

Now, what this means to the magazine industry is that Adobe Air will not be able to run on the iPad or iPhone. So forget about the videos you’ve seen of Wired and Sports Illustrated’s digital magazines for the iPad and iPhone. They won’t work anymore. READ MORE